Trevor Lawrence runs for 2 scores as Jaguars close in on AFC South title with 23-17 win over Colts

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Trevor Lawrence ran for two scores, Cam Little kicked a tiebreaking 42-yard field goal with 6:58 left, and the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Indianapolis Colts 23-17 on Sunday, moving within one victory of their first AFC South title since 2022.

The Jags (12-4) won their seventh straight game one day after two-time defending division champ Houston beat the Los Angeles Chargers to remain in contention for the title. The Texans’ victory also eliminated the Colts from playoff contention.

Jacksonville’s Liam Coen became the first coach in NFL history to take over a four-win team and win 12 games the next season.

Lawrence went 23 of 37 for 263 yards, though his streak of consecutive games with at least 225 yards passing, two TDs and a passer rating over 100 ended at four. He did not have a touchdown pass and he threw his first interception in five weeks.

The Jags kept 44-year-old Colts quarterback Philip Rivers winless in three games since he returned to the league following a five-year retirement.

Indy (8-8) has lost six straight and seven of eight to become the sixth team since 1970 — and the first since the 1995 Oakland Raiders — to miss the postseason after starting 7-1.

Rivers was 16 of 28 for 135 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His pick set up Jacksonville’s go-ahead score.

The fourth-oldest quarterback to start an NFL game relied on his wisdom to put Jacksonville in an early hole.

Rivers guided the Colts to a field goal after Ashton Dulin’s 53-yard kickoff return to start the game. Then he took advantage of Travis Etienne’s fumble on a botched a hook-and-lateral play by leading the Colts on a time-consuming drive that Jonathan Taylor capped with a 3-yard TD run to give Indy a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Lawrence answered with a 4-yard TD run and again with a nifty 6-yard scoring run midway through the third quarter to give Jacksonville a 14-10 lead.

Dulin’s second long return, a 56-yarder, set up Rivers’ 5-yard TD pass to Mo Alie-Cox that gave Indy a 17-14 lead with 5:58 left in the third.

Little tied it with 34-yard field goal, broke the tie with his 42-yarder and extended the margin with a late 53-yarder before the Jags sealed it by intercepting Riley Leonard’s final heave into the end zone.

Stat pack

Jaguars: Etienne rushed 17 times for 76 yards to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for the third time in his four seasons. … Parker Washington caught eight passes for 115 yards. … The Jags have 30 takeaways this season after recording only nine in 2024.

Colts: Taylor tied his single-season franchise records for TD runs (18) and total TDs (19), matching his totals from 2021. … Six of Indy’s eight losses came by seven points or fewer. … The Colts lost their final three home games after winning their first six, including a game in Berlin.

Injury report

Indy receiver Michael Pittman Jr. left briefly in the first quarter with a calf injury, and two-time All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner did not return after aggravating the calf injury that kept him out the previous three weeks.

Up next

Jaguars: Can win the division title with a victory over visiting Tennessee next weekend.

Colts: At Houston next weekend to conclude their fifth straight season without a playoff berth.

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